Nigeria and Nantes of France winger Moses Simon turns 25 today and those who have ever had an encounter with him will testify that he is one of the most humble European base player from Nigeria at the moment.
A devoted christian by faith, the father of two has touched the lives of several people as his way of giving back to the society that made him the star that he is at the moment.
His act of charity started in 2015 when he made his career defining move from Trencin of Slovakia to Gent of Belgium and subsequently cemented his spot in the senior national team of Nigeria.
By the next year while he was marking as one year marriage anniversary he bought football boots for over 23 kids aged 10 and below after a novelty match on the pitch where he started his career in Ribadu Cantonment, Kaduna State.
Before the novelty game I went to his house in preparation. I noticed a lot of food items where in the passage at the entrance. When I got in he told me the items were to be shared to orphanages around Kaduna as his support. I was touched.
By the next year it has grown bigger as he stepped up his act of charity to providing basic amenities to communities around Kaduna state and his ancestral home in Benue State.
He however ensured that he gives out at least 20 pairs of boots every year to aspiring footballers. An act he still does till date and was forced to even increase the number when his wife Sarah Ibukun decided to float a football academy named Simionben Football Academy.
He supported with a bus that picks and drops players before and after training and only recently hosted the entire team to lunch in his house as part of their end of the season retreat.
In 2020 he doled out 5 million naira as palliatives during the coronavirus pandemic. He also gave 2 million naira to internally displaced people of the crisis in Southern Kaduna.
Same year he provided water borehole for the people of Obagaji Agatu Community in Benue State where his father comes from. This year he took it a step further by rehabilitating the major road that leads into the community. He also provided more sources of water for the community.
Recently while in Lagos he gave out 200,000 Naira, jerseys and boots to two teams who played a novelty game when he was hosted by 9 Brigade of the Nigerian Army.
Back in Kaduna where he was raised and still lives he has attained the status of the first source of help to those in need owing to how he has severally touched lives and as he turns 25 today expect him to do more in the coming days, months and years.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
